Letters to the Editor

>Private lot should be open for events at Auditorium.>State should be proud of healthcare exchange.

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Uticaod

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Posted Dec. 7, 2013 at 5:00 AM

Posted Dec. 7, 2013 at 5:00 AM

Private lot should be open for events at Auditorium

Recently friends and I went to our first Utica Comets game. After the game, we found our friend's car, parked across from the Aud, had been towed. We were unaware there was no parking as there was only one sign at a far, unlit corner of the lot, hidden from view by other cars.

The lot owner and towing company towed many vehicles, charging each owner $200 payable in cash only! Shame on the lot owner for not allowing parking when the business was not open. Instead of supporting a community event, the owner and the tow company chose to pad their pockets, costing families, many with small children, a good deal of money they could ill afford, especially during the holiday season.

Shame on the owner for not roping off the lot or opening it for a parking fee. Why don't area residents support their community? Here's one contributing factor. Each week, this newspaper publishes the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. This example of greed and selfishness is the epitome of Ugly.

CINDY MARKOWICZ, Marcy

State should be proud of healthcare exchange

The New York healthcare marketplace, initiated under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), is one of the best of the state-run exchanges, as the O-D recently acknowledged. Had 26 resistant states followed New York's example by establishing their own exchanges, there would have been less demand placed on the national website.

The New York marketplace website is working well. A variety of people are signing up, including young people and others who had little or no insurance. A number of good plans are offered, a good number of vendors are involved, and individuals, small businesses and other professionals are getting needed information. An online calculator helps consumers know what subsidies and tax credits are available, and what their net monthly premium will be.

Another reason for successful enrollments is the availability of licensed navigators (from private agencies) who help consumers traverse the entire process. Almost daily, they have been conducting forums and enrollment sessions in various locations throughout Oneida-Herkimer-Madison Counties.

We need to focus now on the positive provisions of the ACA that will benefit millions of citizens when enrollment processes are successfully executed as they have been in this area and throughout our stand-out state. Excelsior!